Tuesday, June 6, 2017

An ancient Islamic artifact is uncovered and Sergeant Burns is called upon for his expertise to determine if this pendant and necklace could possibly be the key to finding the treasured lost Hadith. THE LOST HADITH BY S. MILSAP THORPE

“The
Lost Hadith” takes place in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia as the focal
point. The protagonist, Patrick Burns, is a very unique character. By
profession, Burns is a college professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies,
as well as a sergeant in the Army National Guard, presently deployed to Iraq.

An
ancient Islamic artifact is uncovered and Sergeant Burns is called upon for his
expertise to determine if this pendant and necklace could possibly be the key
to finding the treasured lost Hadith. Burns employs the help of a long time
friend and professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from Cambridge
University. Both Shiite and Sunni factions are hell bent on retrieving this
artifact to further their own cause, and pursue the two professors from one
corner of Saudi Arabia to the other

Tensions
mount when Burns’ daughter is kidnapped; applying the ultimate pressure for
Burns to find the missing sacred Hadith and to try to save his daughter.

I
found “The Lost Hadith” to be a very enjoyable read. This is my kind of book.
The story moved along at a steady pace, with a surprisingly suspenseful ending.
My only minor problem was trying to keep all of the Middle Eastern names
straight. I would definitely buy this book and would certainly recommend it to
my friends. I particularly liked the main character, Patrick Burns. I will be
sure to look for more books written by S. Milsap Thorpe.

During
Operation Iraqi Freedom, the CIA places Sergeant Burns, who is also a professor
of religious studies in civilian life, on special assignment to decipher a
pendant that belonged to the Prophet Muhammad’s wife, A’isha. Competing Islamic
factions, each led by fanatical clerics, pursue Burns across the Middle East as
he uses the clues found on the pendant to search for a forbidden Hadith;
writings about Muhammad that threaten to tear Islam apart. The clerics resort
to kidnapping Burns’ daughter while she vacations in France and plan to
exchange her for the Hadith. The CIA learns that Burns now plans to exchange
the Hadith for his daughter, which they cannot allow. The Lost Hādīth is
loosely based on actual event during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

EXCERPT

The white SUV that had followed
al-Hakim earlier sat parked on Pembroke Street. The two young men inside were
of Middle Eastern descent. The passenger spotted Burns walking with al-Hakim.

Both men, in their middle
twenties, were dressed in Western attire, slacks, golf shirts and tennis shoes.
They were close shaven and had short hair. The passenger considered the two
photographs he held of Burns and al-Hakim. He elbowed the driver awake and
signaled towards the two men. "It is them," the passenger said.

"Okay," said the
driver. "Wait until they turn on Saint Andrew's Street." The driver
started the vehicle and followed at a slow pace down the street, keeping a safe
distance.

Burns and al-Hakim turned left
onto Saint Andrew's Street. Al-Hakim dangled the pendant on the necklace in his
hand, looking at it occasionally.

The SUV pulled up and stopped
short of the intersection, blocking traffic. Both men jumped out and headed for
the professors.

"Hey!" a motorist
yelled out his driver's window. "You can't park there." He honked his
horn several times.

Burns caught the commotion out
of the corner of his eye and saw two men charging in his direction. "Watch
it, Ahmed!" he shouted.

The passenger man pulled out a
two-inch knife. Burns swung his backpack at him, knocking the knife out of his
hand and promptly sucker-punched him in the face. The man fell to the ground,
smarting.

Burns turned and saw the driver
grab al-Hakim by his shoulders, throwing him up against the wall. The driver
snatched the pendant from al-Hakim and ran back towards the SUV.

Burns rubbed his hurting hand
and chased after the driver, al-Hakim jogging after them.

Burns caught up to the driver
just as he reached the SUV. As the driver tried to get into it, Burns grabbed
him by the seat of his pants, yanked him out and threw him up against the SUV.

A crowd of spectators had now
gathered. The man in the car stuck behind the SUV jumped out and punched at the
air saying, "Yeah! Give 'im bloody hell, mate!"

Burns wrestled with the driver
who dropped the necklace onto the ground. Burns kneed him in the groin and gave
him an uppercut punch. The driver crumpled over and fell to his knees.

Al-Hakim rushed over and picked
up the pendant.

"Who're you working
for?" Burns said in Arabic to the driver, shaking him by his shoulders.
The driver did not respond, his head drooping. Burns released him and stepped
back, looking around at all the gathering spectators.

"We have to get out of
here," he said to al-Hakim, picking up his backpack. "These drivers
nowadays," he hollered to the crowd as he backed away from the scene.
"No driving etiquette. It's almost as bad as the States." He took
al-Hakim by the arm and led him off.

"Should we not wait for
the police?" al-Hakim said, panting from the event.

"And say what? These men
were sent by imams to steal the Prophet's wife's long lost necklace? After they
locked us up for being crazy, they'll confiscate the necklace as
evidence."

"I hope you know what you
are doing."

"Trust me." Burns led
him up Saint Andrew's Street. They turned down Christ's Lane and zigzagged over to the archaeology
department.

"Who do you think those
men were?" al-Hakim said, out of breath as they entered the archaeology
department at a fast pace.

"Specifically? I have no
idea. They clearly want that." He pointed to the necklace hanging in
al-Hakim's hand.

They entered an office and
found Professor Umbridge sitting behind his desk working on his computer.
Umbridge, a thin and well-kept man in his seventies, had no hair and a
pencil-thin mustache. The day he retired would be the day he died.
"Jonathan," al-Hakim said.

"Ahmed. What can I do for
you?"

"Please may I introduce to
you to my friend, Professor Patrick Burns, from Claremont College in
California?"

"Nice to meet you,"
Burns said.

"The pleasure's all mine,
Professor." Umbridge stood, and Burns shook his hand. "Please
sit," Umbridge said, waving to the chairs in front of his desk.

"May I ask a favor of
you?" al-Hakim said, sitting down next to Burns.

"Of course."

"This necklace and
pendant. Patrick and I are working on identifying them for research we are
doing." He handed them to Umbridge. "Could you take a look and
perhaps tell us what you think as to the age and origin?"

Umbridge studied the pendant
first, turning it over and back again. "Hm." He pulled out a
magnifying monocle from his desk drawer and inserted it into his right eye
socket. "I should say," he said in a thick British accent.
"Astonishing." Turning it over, he studied it some more.

Burns and Al-Hakim waited
patiently.

"Incredible," Umbridge
said. "This is beyond belief." He next studied the necklace, running
it up and down through his fingers. "Extraordinary." Finally, he took
his monocle out and looked up at the two men. "The pendant is definitely
Arabic, bronze, 7th century perhaps, the necklace, Yemenite Beads. I
should say its characteristics suggest it was made between the years 600 and
900 CE." Umbridge put his monocle back up to his eye and studied the
pendant again.

"What is it,
Jonathan?" al-Hakim said.

"A'isha, Umm
al-mu'minin," Umbridge said, reading from the pendant.

Al-Hakim glanced at Burns who
raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement. Umbridge leaned back in his chair
and caught his breath, dropping the monocle back into his hand. "It
indicates this may have belonged to A'isha, Muhammad's most influential and
favorite wife. But you already know this."